A Certain Dark Reflection
by ForteOfTheBallad98
Summary: The Dark May Project. A project started to see if multiple Accelerators could be 'manufactured' by inserting his brainwaves into Child Errors, who would not be missed by the city. An inhumane project, but really, everything in Academy City is. My name is Yuuto Amagi, and this is my story of how I regained my individuality. Rated T for swearing and minor gore.
1. Execution

_**A Certain Dark Reflection**_

_**Prologue: Execution**_

* * *

Inside a dark bunker, I watched as STUDY launched their AIM bomb, my paper coffee cup clasped in my hands as usual.

Also as usual, Gensei was merely watching the events while barely caring about the temper tantrums of a few non-Espers. Honestly, it seems envy was a pretty big motivator for a lot of people.

Oh, I should introduce myself. I am Yuuto Amagi, aged fifteen, with unruly steel-grey hair and brown eyes. I was garbed in clothes commonly associated with me; a white dress shirt with a yellow undershirt, grey pants with shoes, and a belt. Oh, as well as my coffee cup.

I am also a Level 4 Esper, and one of the more dangerous of Level 4's that currently exist in Academy City. My ability is named 'Caelus' after the Roman personification of the sky. My ability allows me to manipulate air particles in the air in various ways, such as solidifying the air as well as its own mass. My most common use of Caelus was as an air shield, that worked similarly to the Reflection of Accelerator. Air pressures could also be manipulated by me.

I'd say my ability was very useful for the various tasks I was assigned.

If you're wondering why my ability is similar to Vector Change, the ability of Accelerator, then I'll tell you three simple words that should explain it all.

Dark May Project.

See, when Accelerator's power had fully 'matured', there had been a project put in place to create more of him, for future research. Of course, I knew that meant they wanted to cut us Child Errors up. I was one of the three survivors of the project, along with Kinuhata Saiai and Kuroyoru Umidori.

When I had 'joined' the Dark May Project five years ago, when I was only ten years of age, I had met them. Saiai had been silent but confident, and Umidori had been slightly sociopathic but a very kind girl.

The experiments had changed us in ways we didn't understand.

My grip on my coffee clenched at the thought of those two. Not out of malice, but of hopelessness. When the project had been abandoned due to Umidori-and to a lesser extent, myself-killing many of the scientists involved, they had split us up. I remembered the powerlessness as Kihara Amata punched me in the stomach, and as I blacked out, I saw them being dragged away.

I turned a critical eye onto Gensei. That man was a monster. Truly, the Devil incarnate.

He manipulated lives as easily as he ate breakfast. He was just so demented, and given what his granddaughter had been going to do, I could safely say it ran in the family. Except in Nayuta. That girl didn't deserve to be a part of such a family of monsters.

Nevertheless, I had been trained in my powers, and I soon became Gensei's favorite 'attack dog'. Sent to kill anyone he became displeased with, and any who would challenge the authority of the Kihara's.

But it's safe to say...that STUDY were even bigger monsters than him. And that's saying something.

Using children in such a despicable way...creating-_growing_-them to what? Kill _thousands _of innocents in Academy City who had never done anything to harm them?

On a desk, a lamp was crushed into scrap by my power.

Utterly unforgivable.

"I would suggest you calm yourself, Yuuto-kun." I turned my attention to Gensei again. He hadn't turned to me, but he had been aware of my power. "This is very entertaining, isn't it? How stupid some people can be when it comes to jealousy."

I snorted. "Jealousy? Gensei-jii, he's almost as depraved as you. _That's _saying something you know."

Gensei nodded. "I certainly see that. But, it seems his experiment was a failure. How predictable from that brat."

Looking back at the screen, I saw Mikoto Misaka and her friends disarm the AIM bomb, and subsequently, STUDY was arrested. I could bare some satisfaction in that.

"He's a third-rate scientist, Gensei-jii. If there's one thing about the Kihara's I don't hate, it's that you always get something out of a situation. Even a small-scale part."

I could get away with insulting Gensei mainly because I was the closest Esper in the city to Accelerator's Vector Change; the only one besides him and Teitoku that could possibly ascend beyond my current level. Into the realm of godhood.

How utterly ridiculous. A stupid notion.

But in turn, I was forced to go along with Gensei, since he knew of Saiai and Umidori's locations, even if I didn't, and he also had the means to kill them. He kept me in line by threatening them. Since the day the three of us met, we had become a family. Something we all never had before then. Gensei knew I would _die _to protect them, and he played on it.

Sadistic. So fucking sadistic.

But I did his dirty work anyway, to keep my sister safe. Even if I died, I would protect them. Because they were the only things that had any meaning to me; they made my life worthwhile. As long as I focused on that, I'd be fine.

I took a moment to think of my next course of action.

This bastard...this Haruki Aritomi and his cohorts of STUDY...deserved to die. And so, my next actions became clear. To rid Academy City of these loathsome bastards and bitches. To make them pay for their experiments.

"Oi, Gensei. Where are those STUDY people held? I'd like to...pay them a visit." I said calmly, though I was feeling tranquil fury.

Due to the experiments of the Dark May, the three of us...our personalities had been _changed_. Saiai had gained Accelerator's lethargic and dare I say it _calmer _side, while Umidori had inherited his psychopathic tendencies and, as the people of the internet would call it, 'Large Ham'.

Me...I was different, yet similar. Normally, I was very calm, stoic, hardly caring of anything except if it pissed me off. But when I got _excited..._that was when people had to run. That was when The Voice started to talk to me.

There was a reason I was considered the greatest success of the Dark May Project. That was one of them.

Gensei turned to me, and smiled. No, not a good smile. A _bad _one. A very very bad one. The kind you'd see on rapists or sadistic murderers. Given how little I knew of Gensei's other activities, those two were very plausible.

"Ah? Have these observations irritated you perhaps, Yuuto-kun? How predictable."

I'd give anything to smash that bastard's face in, but if I did, Umidori...Saiai...they would die, as I stated before. So I kept quiet, and sipped my coffee. It calmed me down; it always did.

"Got a problem with it? If you do, just say it, Gensei-jii." I said, short-tempered. I wanted to get this over with. I wanted to make these STUDY people die painfully.

"But of course you can go, Yuuto-kun." Gensei waved, and the door to the bunker opened. I proceeded through it, but not before hearing his next words. "Make sure there is no evidence left over, alright?"

I didn't answer. I didn't need to.

* * *

I walked through Academy City, the sky bronze now as the sun began to set. I kept sipping my coffee as I walked on, deep in thought about STUDY.

Through the various resources Gensei-jii had in many of the circles of the law enforcement of Academy City, STUDY was most likely jailed in a maximum-security prison. There were several of them in Academy City; for example, the Reformatory was one of them.

Hmm...I always wondered why Gensei broke out that Mitori Kouzaku from the facility some weeks ago. It had to do with the fact of the first MISAKA clone, Dolly. But I couldn't imagine why she was staying loyal. Was it revenge? She should've learned by now that Gensei had supported the project that had 'killed' Dolly.

Maybe she was just a real idiot. Getting revenge for person who has been dead for a long time. But...I guess I can't be _that _sarcastic. I'd do the same, if Saiai and Umidori were...

I clenched my eyes shut. I couldn't think about that, not now. I need my brains and my intellect right now to plan this execution. Personal attachments would compromise me.

I looked through my catalog of memories, browsing through them with ease; information that I needed were arranged alphabetically and grouped in keywords. Another byproduct of the Dark May Project. All three of us were given Accelerator's eidetic memory. Whoop-de-doo.

After _that _part of the experiment, our heads had been force-fed massive amounts of information, to help us with our abilities. At times, I wanted to die. But I didn't. I was too determined to die anti-climatically. Anyway, back to the browsing.

Keyword: maximum security prison.

Three matches; Reformatory, Woodward Penitentiary for Both Genders, and Palace of Justice.

Eliminating Reformatory. Reasons for action is that the Reformatory is used for pre- and adolescents. From my knowledge, STUDY were at least in their twenties, maybe even later.

Okay then. Other keywords; scientist, medium-size. Reasons for those keywords were that it was severely unlikely STUDY would be put into a prison that had hardened criminals, like Skill Out. They would be massacred. And far worse things than being killed would happen to them.

Even those bastards didn't deserve _that. _You guys know what I'm talking about.

Result; Woodward Penitentiary.

"Hey, watch out!" I heard a bike horn being honked behind me, and I sighed. The streets weren't very full, so I could use my powers right now.

Alright, grouping air particles into the width of my back, give or take a few centimeters. Placing shield five centimeters from my back. Now, she will crash right about...

CRASH!

"Ow!"

...Now. Going by the sound, she bounced back some distance.

I opened my eyes and turned around. The bike was hardly recognizable as so. It looked as if it had hit a sledgehammers, which technically it did. More interesting was the girl who had fallen to the ground.

She was wearing sports gear, having clearly went for a cycle drive. She also wore tough trainers and shorts, which informed me that she was very fitness-oriented. Not bad, considering most of the people in Academy City. Myself not included.

Her hair was long, and bangs swept over her forehead, masking it. But...hell! That is one giant forehead. Seriously, if it was polished, I don't doubt I could see my reflection in it. But, what also drew my curiosity was her abnormally large chest.

Were they melons? or implants?

The girl winced, before we connected gazes. All of a sudden, she got a red face and attempted to grab my collar. Keyword to note, 'tried'. I just activated Caelus and created a shield three centimeters close to me. Judging from her bewildered look, she felt the impact of her hand on my shield.

"What's the big idea, idiot?!" She demanded of me, as I looked disinterested. "I told you to move out of the way!"

I sighed; she really was a bit stupid. "Two things; one, I didn't _want _to move, and two, you could've moved around me. It's your fault that bike is now the retarded cousin of a train-track."

Her face got even more red, and I sipped my coffee some more, genuinely amused by the events. I forgot how great Caelus could be. I sharpened my eyes; it seemed there were some bruises on her arms from colliding with my air shield.

"Hey, don't change the subject. You owe me a bike, jerk!" She shouted at me, and I felt my patience wearing thin. This was starting to get a little boring.

"Your bike, your problem, forehead-girl." I said nonchalantly, but all of a sudden a strange feeling washed over my body. This was similar to Amata's Killer Intent. And it was...

Coming from that girl...?

"Don't..." She gritted her teeth, and my eyes widened as she reeled back her fist. "DON'T CALL ME FOREHEAD!"

She slammed her fist into my abdomen, or _would have_, if I hadn't got Caelus up in time. But with only a second of warning, I could only throw up a small shield at the designated impact zone. And even then, she had managed to _push me back. _

Impossible. No-one except Amata had been able to do that. And only Amata because my powers were so similar to Accelerator's. Just...what was that forehead-girl?

I slid to a stop a meter away, dust flying into the air. I breathed in and out; even through my air shield, I _still _felt the impact. If I had to guess, there was a bruise there.

I looked up at her, and she seemed surprised that I had withstood her attack. That enhanced strength...was it her Esper ability? The ability to temporarily change body fat into pure muscle? That seemed...like a good ability for a fitness-obsessed girl.

"Yuuto Amagi." I said, and she seemed puzzled as to why I was giving her my name. To be honest, so was I? Why would I give this girl who I would likely never meet again my name?

"Huh?"

"My name. In case we meet again, forehead-girl." I began to walk away before she had another temper tantrum. Though, I heard her state her own name.

"I-in that case, my name is Seiri Fukiyose! Next time we meet, Yuuto Amagi, I will beat you into a pulp!"

I smiled good-naturedly as I proceeded to the Woodward Penitentiary. Not smirked; _smiled. _

"I'll be waiting, forehe-Seiri. I'll be waiting..."

At the time, I really didn't know I'd see her again. Boy, was I wrong.

* * *

Woodward Penitentiary...such a hive of scum and villainy. On the outside it looked like a pristine hospital, and from my own observations, even the workers were clad in white, nurse-like outfits.

I couldn't be wrong.

I managed to sneak inside by using hacking equipment I had brought along with me, repeating the camera loop. Hey, I never said I was super smart. Just smart enough to have common sense. Eidetic memory helps a lot, though.

Once inside, I had to force myself _not _to dry heave, as the sheer whiteness and smell reminded me of back then. In the Institute. Where the Dark May experiments had been carried out.

"Can't focus on that right now," I said to myself, mainly for reassurance. As long as I had something to focus on... "Remember, I'm here to make those STUDY bastards pay for using kids in their experiments."

Alright, a few deep breaths...there. Done. Calm.

I had to hurry with my business; once I broke open the STUDY cells, it would take at the least fifteen minutes for Anti-Skill or Judgment to get here.

I looked at the list of inmates-there, Haruki Aritomi. Cell D5. Easy to find, literally just down the corridor.

I walked slowly to the cells, having left my coffee on the desk, where once I was done it would be easy to get back. If I was fast enough that is.

The cell-mates heard my footsteps, and looked at me in curiosity. I snorted; of course they would, I was new to many of them. In the next few minutes, every single one of them would be traumatized.

"Oi, Haruki." I tapped on the cell door. The bastard woke up, and looked at me in curiosity. "I'd stay well away from the door I'm about to bust down."

"Who are you...?" Haruki asked me, and I replied with a bloodthirsty smile, just like The Voice told me to, most of the time that it made itself aware to me.

"Your doom."

With my piece said, I ripped off enough of the cell door so that I could enter. Using Caelus, I manipulated the air density surrounding the cell bars so I could throw them into the wall with ease, cracking the latter.

I stepped into the cell, and was greeted by Haruki snivelling like a little bitch. Another slasher smile graced my face; oh, how _satisfying. _That this rat actually knew Fear.

"Oh, what's the matter, Haruki? Scared?" I said sadistically, as The Voice fed me words and what to say. "Trust that gut of yours; _it's right._"

"You damn Esper!" Haruki shouted at me, and got up. "All of you goddamn Espers! I'll kill you!"

That did shit against my air shield, as he hit an invisible wall with the density of a sheet of rock, and then I pushed it outwards, sending him flying into the wall behind him.

He screamed in pain. Oh, sounds like a few broken bones. Perfect.

I licked my lips, and picked him up by his throat before throwing him back into the wall. He was heavily bleeding now, with impact trauma on his forehead. I smirked; that gave me a great idea.

"You know, I hate scum like you. Scum that takes advantage of innocent children for their own ambitions." I listed off, and Haruki seemed to grow even more afraid. "People who have no scruples about doing something are true monsters. Such as yourself; you, who are too steeped in jealousy and envy of Espers, don't even _think _that most Espers are kind people." I knelt down, and I hissed into his ear.

"You. Are. Afraid. Of. Us." I spoke the truth that I had seen emerge from his actions during Silent Party. I spoke of the _fear _I had seen, which he hid underneath the mask of haughtiness. "You are afraid of our power! You act all high and mighty, but in reality you are just wimps! And you use _children _to complete your petty vengeance. How...depraved."

"You Espers...you're all damn monsters!" What an idiot Haruki could be. Insulting those who would have helped him just for the sake of helping. Luckily, I'm not one of those Espers. "Academy City is obssessed with you monsters, and I will cleanse the world of you!"

I took a long, slow moment to kneel down to Haruki's eye level. I let him see his impending demise, and I was greatly satisfied that he was growing even more afraid by the moment.

"No...you won't."

Seeing a cut in his forehead, I gave one last slasher smile before forming my right hand into a gun gesture, and put my index finger into the cut. Haruki screamed at the pain.

"Question: do you know what happens when air in a closed space expands?" He nodded that he didn't know. What a pity. "As the density and scale of the air expands, it eventually blows up. Just like blowing too much air into a balloon." I twisted my finger in his wound, and he saw just how his life would end.

In a heartbeat.

A bloodthirsty smile worthy of a Devil came upon my face, as I spoke the last words he would ever hear.

"See ya."

Blood and brain matter splattered across the wall, and Haruki's corpse fell to the ground, lifeless. I smirked, before giving a laugh. A long, terrible, demonic laugh.

Oh, that had been _GLORIOUS! _I hadn't done that trick in a long time. I laughed like a harpy, and I was aware of the time. I looked around the other cells; various STUDY members were incarcerated in other cells.

Smiling devilishly, I stepped into the middle of the hallway, and shouted to the heavens.

"So..._WHO'S NEXT?!" _

That night...STUDY ceased to exist. They would no longer harm anyone in Academy City anymore.

And, strangely, as I left the carnage-filled cells, corpses decorating the other cells, I remembered when I first had been scouted for the Dark May Project five years ago.

Grabbing my coffee and taking a sip, I was pulled back into memories I thought no longer existed.

Memories where I had been my own person, and not defined by an ax-crazy Level 5 or the Dark Side.

When I truly had been Yuuto Amagi.

* * *

_Five years ago..._

_I stayed in my room in the orphanage, my small suitcase still unpacked. I cried for a long time; when my family had come to Academy City, my mother...my father..._

_They had abandoned me. _

_My mother Yukiko, and my father Yusuke. I thought they had loved me enough to stay with me. I thought that we could be a family, even if I caused financial problems just by being born. _

_I _wanted _them to love me. _

_They'd had to let me be born, 'cause my grandpa and grandma on both sides had told them to. My parents hadn't hesitated to tell me this as soon as I was old enough to comprehend words. _

_When we came to Academy City, they seemed to be much more loving towards me, and I found myself happy for the first time in ages. But then, they'd left me at this orphanage. _

_They'd told me that they would come back for me, and for three months I hoped that they would. It took two weeks after that to grab that they _had left me here. _In a place I didn't understand or could even begin to observe._

_I was totally and utterly _alone.

_They have a name for kids like us, where parents who don't care enough about us dump us in Academy City. Child Errors. _

_Errors...means mistake. That's what my teacher taught us that._

_I'm a mistake, I guess. I never should have been born. _

"_In here, Professor." I heard the lady in charge of the orphanage call to someone, as the two of them walked into my room. "Poor boy, abandoned here a few months ago."_

"_Don't worry, Miss. It's completely fine. I won't be long." _

_The two of them walked into my room, while I watched with curiosity. The old man was the one I had never seen before. _

_He was bent and hunchbacked of a sort, with a white labcoat on his body, buttoned up. He also had a cane held in his left hand that supported his weight. His eyes were closed, and he had a sincere smile on his face. _

_Despite that, I got a feeling that he was _dangerous. _But how could a kindly, old man be dangerous?_

"_Hello Miss Kisaragi. Um, who's this?" I asked politely. The old man smiled and ruffled my hair. I found it annoying, but at the same time I thought it was something that a parent would do._

"_My name is Gensei Kihara, Yuuto Amagi." The old man's smile widened, and despite a terrible feeling in my gut, I smiled back._

_After all, a smile was a good thing, right?_

"_I'm here to give you a home." _

* * *

**So, this is the first chapter of a fanfic inspired by the likes of Ragner, 'A Certain Mystical Esper', 'A Certain Angelic Finality', and 'A Certain Lawful Ensemble' which are excellent reads. **

**Now, the main character is a third 'graduate' of the Dark May Project, and personally I found it very difficult to ignore how much of a wasted plot it is in canon. So, the italics will feature flashbacks of Yuuto before and after Dark May, at least until they catch up to the 'present'.**

**Another thing; if you complain that Caelus makes no sense, I took inspiration from the Superheroes Wiki regarding Air Manipulation, and going by that it is very plausible. **

**The reason that I had Yuuto kill STUDY minus Shinobu was because I personally find that they created children _as weapons _to be morally reprehensible and beyond the Moral Event Horizon. And naturally, given the Dark May Project, Yuuto would take this very...personal. Let's leave it at that.**

**So, this is the prologue. The next few chapters will cover the Tree Diagram Remnant Arc where Yuuto begins to interact with the wider cast of TAMNI and TAKNR, _especially _with the TAKNR cast, considering that an epithet I've come up for him is 'The Next Accelerator'. **

**To quote a great man; "Basically..._run." _**

**I look forward to the reception from this chapter, and please give reviews with your thoughts about what I did good and what I could improve on. I especially will take notice as to what people think of Yuuto as a character. And please note, I will be doing my best to avoid Gary-Stu tropes. You have my word. **


	2. Orders: Retrieve Remnant

_**A Certain Dark Reflection**_

_**Arc I: Remnant **_

_**Chapter 1: Orders-Retrieve Remant**_

* * *

The next day after my brutal execution of STUDY, I was sitting on my bed length-wise, with my right leg bent and my left foot on my right knee. My hands were knotted behind my head.

I was deep in thought about when my actions would be brought to light, though I didn't care as long as I wasn't caught. To ensure that my identity as well as facial features were concealed, I had frightened the other inmates into keeping quiet. If they had any hope of walking again, they better do so.

"This isn't gonna get me anywhere," I muttered, and shifting my position, I grabbed my trusty coffee which was beside me, and took a sip. Hmm, very nice. Looks like it was a good call, me putting in a bit more sugar than usual. As long as those pills I put in my coffee dissolved properly, I'd be fine.

"Now, let's see here," I sat up against the wall behind my pillow. I looked about my room; it was a small apartment, though it was big enough for my own uses. There was a TV built into the wall, with a wireless remote. There was also a door to the toilet just down from my bed, towards the exit door, and the rest of the complex.

Luckily, I had a balcony, and sometimes I would sit out there and simply just _think_. Not about anything in particular, just look back on happier times.

"I hope they're alright," I whispered out loud; when I was sentimental, I tended to do that. "Saiai...Umidori...I'll find you. I swear."

Pretty empty, coming from me. I had sworn to the ceiling to do that for months, and years even. I never could find out where they were, even with the limited resources granted to me by Gensei. For all I knew, they could be dead and I wouldn't know. That was the hard part.

I was a pretty bad hypocrite, wasn't I?

I promised I'd find them and protect them, but we weren't together right at the minute, and I really hoped they weren't injured, or worse. Hell, if I knew Umidori-and believe me, I do-she'd be lying low if she escaped the Kihara's. Same with Saiai.

Absentmindedly, I touched my alarm clock and sent it flying through the window, breaking both in the process. I cursed; it would cost more money to replace them. I had done that a lot in the past few months, ever since the Level 6 Shift experiment failed, as Gensei told me more about his 'backup'.

I really only knew that it involved Mikoto Misaka, Tokiwadai's Railgun and the MISAKA Network, but besides Gensei offhandedly mentioning a 'virus', I didn't know anything. Mitori knew more; of course that step ford-smiling brat would. Gensei had had me break her out of the Reformatory, and we had an...interesting way of talking to each other.

Scratch that last comment. I meant _tolerating _each other.

I hate to admit it, but she was much more involved with Gensei's side projects than I was. I was also sure that Gensei had neglected to mention that Gensei had moved Dolly's memories to a different Sister, which was in a remote location. He had told me in confidence that if Mitori became too 'wild', I was to unveil the clone and hold her hostage for Mitori's continued cooperation.

I had agreed, mainly because Gensei had similar stuff on me, like Saiai and Umidori. But what Gensei had planned if Mitori became...'uncontrollable'; I didn't like it. I didn't like it _at all. _

Despite me disliking Mitori, I wouldn't wish that fate on her. On no-one.

In order to distract myself from those thoughts I grabbed the remote, and switched on the TV. Immediately, I was greeted by an image of the Penitentiary, with the cells being shown. A reporter was also in front of the scene, as corpses were being examined.

In spite of myself, I smiled. Those STUDY bastards deserved it. All of them. But at the same time, I realized that one day, when my actions grew more immoral, I would cross the line, and become another Accelerator.

"I'm here at the Woodward Penitentiary for Both Genders, where the bodies of members of the group known as STUDY have been found. Forensics indicate they were murdered sometime after eleven last night. Especially brutalized was the body of Haruki Aritomi, aged twenty-nine, and the ringleader of the group that attempted to eliminate all Espers in Academy City."

"A motive cannot be determined at the moment, though Anti-Skill collaborates that similar murders occurred several years ago in the decrepit Medical Research Facility For Degenerative Diseases, where several Espers were found dead of differing causes, such as organ compression. It is assumed that the original murderer has started to kill again, or that this is the work of a copy cat. This is Ariel Suzuki, signing off."

The TV switched to some commercial about a crappy anime, but the damage to my mood had already been done. I began to breathe in and out rapidly, and my vision began to fade as I recalled _that night. _

* * *

_I was on the floor, breathing in sharply as I collapsed to the ground, courtesy of a shock by a Level 3 Electromaster, who smiled savagely at me. I couldn't use my ability; for some reason, when I tried, I got a massive headache. Was it because of that operation a while ago...?_

_Ever since then, something inside me had felt _wrong. _Perverted. As if I wasn't me anymore. _

"_Stay down on the floor, mutt. It'll be better for you that way," He turned from me, and walked towards Umidori, who was shrieking in pain. _

_Over five Electromasters were sending electricity waves into her back, where those _bastards _had installed those damn robot arms. Due to the process, new metallic nerves had been implanted into Umidori's head, connecting the arms to her brain, allowing her to control them. But that also allowed Electromasters to control _her_._

_Why...why were they doing this...? Hadn't they wrecked us enough...?_

_My vision was fading, but I got back up. I had to. I _had to protect Umidori. _I had given my word, my promise. I couldn't go back on it. I had to _protect her!

"_Leave her alone!" I roared at the lead Electromaster, who turned back to me with his glasses sparking. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" _

_My movements were sluggish as I tried to rush forward, but this allowed the Electromaster to slam an electricity-charged punch into my gut, putting me back onto the ground again. I twitched as the electricity attacked my internal organs, putting stress on my heart. Due to this, I began to black out._

"_Just stay down kid. We're just doing our jobs." The Electromaster told me, but through my pain I couldn't hear most of his spiel. "We're testing her new implants. And if she dies, so what? You shouldn't care for someone who could die at any moment."_

"_Didn't you get the memo when you joined the program?" _

_Umidori screamed in pain, as she began to cough up blood as the arms extended from her back and fastened themselves around her limbs, keeping her restrained while two more began to strangle her. She looked me right in the eye, and I felt tears began to fall._

_I had promised to protect her. Her and Saiai. What good was I, if I couldn't even do that? _

"_Yuuto-nii! Please...HELP ME!" _

_I heard a heartbeat echo in my ears as I began to lose consciousness. _

Get up.

_As the darkness filled in my vision, as Umidori's screams faded to the background, I became aware of _something_ in front of me. A demon with white hair and red eyes. _

Get up you fuck!

_It grabbed my hair, and forced me to lookm into those devilish eyes, and those same orbs drilled into my soul. _

Get up and _SLAUGHTER THOSE BASTARDS! _

_Suddenly, something in my brain _changed, _and the being, the Voice, merged with me. And I found myself enjoying its presence. It was soothing, like a good cup of coffee. _

_The world came back in, but suddenly, I didn't care. I wanted to kill these bastards...these monsters who harmed my kouhai, my sister. _

_I WANTED VENGEANCE!_

_I laughed. I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes. All eyes were now fixed on me, and I began to get up, steadily but my stance was different. Everything was so red..._

_Everything pissed me off._

"_Are you ready~?" I called out in a singsong voice, and the Electromasters were unnerved. So they should be. For waking me up. "Time to get slaughtered~"_

"_Yuuto-nii?" _

_I ignored Umidori for the moment. Once the floor was covered by the blood of these cretins, then I would attend to my adopted little sister. _

"_You shouldn't be able to move!" The leader yelled at me. "I immobilized all of your motor systems; you should've gone unconscious for three hours!" _

"_Well then, _you're _not as deadly as you thought, trash!" I called him out on his patheticness. "I just got a wake up call!" _

_I stamped on the ground, sending out a powerful shock wave with me as the epicenter. The resulting winds blew all the Electromasters away. I looked at the shallow crater I was in, which was created by releasing bursts of compressed air molecules into the ground, creating the small crater as well as blowing the Electromasters away. _

"_So, this is my new power? How very interesting..." I noted, and the Electromasters got up, ready to attack me._

"_Time to die." _

_Several high-voltage bolts were sent my way, but it took a mere second to activate the air vectors necessary to divert the bolts to hit the walls behind me. Now, they were afraid. I could see it in their faces, and I hoped they wet themselves._

"_Was that supposed to do something?" I asked innocently. "Oh wait, was that your strongest attack? How pathetic. I pity you for being so weak." I smirked another devilish grin. _

"_My turn, bastards." _

_I covered my fists in pressurized air, and leapt forward, with jets sending me flying forward. I punched one Electromaster right in the gut, and sent him flying right into the walls by releasing the pressure away from me, resulting in a similar technique to the shock wave._

_I heard a satisfying crunch as all the bones in his body broke from the impact, and I knew he was most likely dead. Good. I could focus on the other trash now. _

_I dashed to another Electromaster, and touched a palm to his chest. I decided to get a little creative, and I caused internal rupturing in his body by having internal air pressure crush his organs one by one. He practically vomited blood onto me, covering my right side, before he died. _

_How _glorious.

_Three left, including the leader. I was impatient now, so I took care of the two mooks by sending powerful air-punches into their craniums, caving them in instantly. On my walk to the leader, who was still now, I absentmindedly crushed the head of one of the mooks by increasing air pressure around my foot to an extraordinary amount, and stamping down _hard.

_Brains leaked everywhere, and Umidori gagged as she threw up._

_Part of me regretted doing this, but I was too far gone in this euphoria to give up now. I was enjoying myself far more than I actually should. _

"_What's wrong, Electromaster? Afraid? You should be." I told him, and he couldn't reply. I snorted; spineless bastard. "You had to do it, didn't you? You had to push my button. For that, you deserve to die."_

_In a panicked frenzy, he sent several bolts at me. Though I reflected them, some of them made my arms twitch. An a Level 3 could do this? How disappointing. _

_But I'm the Strongest Level 4. A little buzz wasn't anything to me. _

"_Come on, face death with a little dignity if you can manage it!" I yelled at him, and he immediately cowered to his knees. How appropriate. "Of course, you could never hope to kill me, could you?!" _

_He sniveled like the little shit he was, and I laughed again, cackling like a hyena. This was all too funny! It was hilarious, really!_

"_Well, I guess I'm gonna kill you now, Electromaster!" I roared, and descended upon the Electromaster. Soon enough, his screams turned into wonderful music to my ears, and eventually he was nothing more than guts and bone._

_I felt _invigorated! _I had never felt such relief before! I looked up at the glass observation deck, right into Gensei Kihara's open eyes. Amata, and Therestina...they looked unwell. But I didn't care._

_With a sadistic smile on my face I declared..._

"_SO, HOW'S THIS GENSEI KIHARA?!"_

* * *

"Mou, Yuuto-kun. You shouldn't have that look on your face." I was called out of the flashback to the slaughter, by no-one else but Mitori Kouzaku. I looked at the entrance of my apartment with a glare.

She was wearing a purple nurse outfit, though it was customized with long tights and shoes, plus a belt and gloves. She even had a skull necklace around her neck. Her long purple hair was styled into pigtails, and her purple eyes were soft-looking. Tch, I knew the truth behind them, and that fake smile.

Mitori was so broken. Literally, I could _see _beyond her facade, into her soul. Because despite our differences, we had both experienced the same thing.

Lost innocence.

"You know, you should _knock_ Mitori." I stated, irritated but grateful for the distraction. Not that I would tell her that. "It's stuff like this that makes me what to punt you through the wall."

And with my powers, it would be very easy to do so.

She smiled sickeningly, and her Liquid Shadow appeared, right beside her. It was almost like a mannequin, with dark holes where the eyes were supposed to be, and where the mouth should be.

I tched. Mitori's ability, Liquid Shadow, allowed her to control liquids with a gravity of twenty or greater, and because of that little limitation, she had found it more practical to use liquid metal. She could fashion it into weapons, or like here, a doll. How ironic.

"You know I could destroy your 'Dolly', right?" I asked her, and her face twisted into something darker and more true to her 'true self'. Good. "I could dispel it with my ability, and Liquid Shadow couldn't get through my shields."

"On the contrary, Yuuto-kun." Mitori said, tone darker than before. "Your ability uses air vectors. With a little force, Liquid Shadow could get through it."

"True," I admitted the point. As much as I hated (or liked) it, my ability was _not _Accelerator's, so with sufficient force her ability could break through mine. "But that'd have to be a mighty heavy liquid. Not many of those, are there?"

Problem with liquid metal; it retains its gravity, and the only way to make it heavier is to convert it to a solid state. Where Mitori wouldn't be able to control it.

"Look, let's cut the foreplay, Mitori." I decided to get serious. "What does the old man want me for?"

Mitori didn't seem surprised; after all, our little 'meetings' were very much just sarcasm. "He wants you to be brought to him. So let's go, Yuuto-kun."

"Bah, gimme a minute, loli-nurse." I made a gesture for her to leave, before I grabbed the keys to my apartment and locked the door. We both walked out in silence, before making our way to one of the old man's hideaways.

No offence, but did you guys think Gensei only had _one _hideout in the whole city? Hell no! There were like, a hundred or so, all connected by deep underground trams. I'd be impressed if the person who used them was someone who wasn't, you know, _Gensei. _

We reached the facility where Gensei was, and we both walked in tandem. One of the few things about Mitori that was impressive; she could _actually stay quiet. _I've very nearly lost my temper at idiots who talked too much, or were too loud. Mitori was a nice change of pace.

Of course, I still had my problems with her.

We reached a door, and proceeded through. Gensei was standing, with his back to us. The large computer screen illuminated the otherwise dark room. Mitori coughed, getting Gensei's attention.

"Gensei-jii, Yuuto-kun is here, as you instructed." Mitori said, and Gensei turned, his eyes closed and with a smile on his face. I resisted the urge to growl; I hated that face. But it's not like I could do anything about it.

"Ah yes, Yuuto-kun. I have a job for you and Mitori." I raised an eyebrow; Mitori was being used for this assignment as well? Better be worth it.

"What's the job, Gensei-jii? Spit it out." I said rudely, and Mitori gave me a dope slap. In return, I gave her one as well. She rubbed her head, and gave me a look.

"Ow, that hurt! You used your powers, didn't you?" Mitori accused, and I smirked; of course I had. But she already knew that.

"Once you children have your petty squabbles finished, turn your attention to the screen." Gensei pressed a button, and we were treated to the image of a spaceship retrieving the piece of a computer. We both knew what that was.

"As you are aware, the Tree Diagram was destroyed, and under the pretense that they were 'showing off', various countries were trying to retrieve the core of the Diagram. We managed to retrieve the Core remnant, which is most important."

I grimaced; I remembered the day I heard that the Tree Diagram had been irreparable, and had been near one of the residential districts when a giant white beam had shot skywards. Back then, I had thought it was dangerous, and had told Gensei. The bastard told me that he had seen it as well, and had reported it to Aleister Crowley, and we were pretty much the only of Gensei's immediate subordinates that knew of this.

Even though I was pretty much amoral towards the Diagram, even I knew that if it wasn't recreated, there would be several problems in Academy City. Those that would affect most of us Espers likely.

"So you want us to bring it to you?" I asked, and Gensei nodded. "Tch, why didn't you just have someone bring it to you directly? Would've solved a lot of problems."

"You bring up a good point, Yuuto-kun." Mitori commented, and I rolled my eyes. Of course she would answer instead of Gensei. "But if it was brought to the Windowless Building, questions would be asked. Questions the Dark Side doesn't need."

"Mitori-chan is quite correct, Yuuto-kun." Gensei confirmed. "But we've also received reports of our rivals getting into Academy City to steal the Remnant, so the Superintendent wants you two to protect the Remnant fragment while it is being delivered by Awaki Musujime. Is this acceptable?"

Ugh, if there was one person I _dis_liked more than Mitori, it was Awaki Musujime. She was just so haughty about everything and bragged about how her Move Point ability was superior. Bad thing was, she was right about that. Move Point and by extension Teleportation could be used against Caelus, so if I ever faced a Teleporter, I'd have to be quick and brutal.

Luckily, any Teleporters couldn't use their ability if they were in pain, and couldn't make the necessary calculations if they were under pressure, so I had an advantage there. Really, it would depend on who struck first.

"Yeah, why not. Let's get going, Mitori." I directed the statement at Mitori, who bowed down to Gensei and followed me out.

I smiled at the coming fighting, as I sipped my coffee, which I had managed to bring with me somehow. Ah, that was better. At least my homebrew was better than Starbucks. We grabbed a datapad with our instructions from just before the exit.

"See you, Yuuto-kun." Mitori said, and we split up outside the facility as the afternoon began to pass in a golden shade. I sighed and turned back to her. "Good luck to you."

"Meh, I don't need it, Mitori." I said, and smirked as we walked apart. "After all, I'm the Strongest Level 4. Some punks won't stop me."

* * *

I was floating high above Academy City, though I was still close enough to the ground that it was visible. I kept air-walking above the car carrying Remnant. Actually, make that Remnant that was stolen. I was able to airwalk due to manipulating the air into shields that materialized under my feet in a wide circle.

Pretty awesome, huh?

My orders from the pad were to make sure that the Remnant reached the Windowless Building, and intervene if I want or need to. I also had a BlueTooth device attached to my left ear, connecting me to Awaki's.

We had organized a plan beforehand; we would let the thieves get to a certain point, and then I would smash directly into the car, hopefully killing all the unnecessary collateral.

Gah, I was doing it again. Why didn't I bring my coffee?

_Because you need to be psycho for this, dumbass! _

I deliberately ignored The Voice...and just how it was pretty much my inner Accelerator. I kept an eye on the speeding car, before the city block quite literally went dark.

The lights buzzed off, and the lights were switched to red immediately. I narrowed my eyes; there was only one person that could do that.

Mikoto Misaka, The Railgun.

I gritted my teeth; this could cause problems. I activated the BlueTooth, and immediately got Awaki's response.

"_You have reached the private line of Awaki Musujime; please give a message after the beep. BEEP."_

I sighed-Awaki tended to be dramatic like this. Like with Mitori, I decided to cut the foreplay out and get straight down to business. Not...'down' to business. Just business, like we were doing.

Gah, damn you me lacking the ability to articulate my words properly!

"Cut it out, Awaki. Do you see the blackout?"

I heard feedback as she did whatever. A second later, she came back with an affirmative, and we continued the conversation.

"_Yep, I see it. It's most likely that the Railgun has gotten involved. Lucky I had a contingency plan in place." _She assured me, and I raised an eyebrow; when had she done that.

"Is it reliable?" I asked. I had to; this wasn't something that could literally be replaced over night; this was Remnant, and if I screwed up I'd be fucked.

"_Of course, Yuuto-kun. It's _me _after all~" _She said in a singsong voice, and I had to stop myself from sighing. But there was the hint of truth to Awaki's words, and I was well aware that underneath her 'cute' outer-shell, she could be one manipulative bitch.

"Fine. Once those guys get down the alley I see them approaching, I'll get the case. I assume you'll be out of sight."

The BlueTooth clicked as I completed the statement. I wasn't asking Awaki to do so; we _needed _her to do so. As the Guide, she had to remain hidden at all costs. The rumors of the Windowless Building were common, and if it were to be divulged that she was the Guide to it, she woud either be silenced or forced into cooperation. Which would be _very _problematic.

...It wasn't because I _cared _for her. Don't be stupid!

As I saw the thieves running into the alley, a bloodthirsty smirk found itself on my face. "So, shall we play a game?"

I plunged down, ready to sink my fangs into my unlucky targets.

* * *

**So, I am VERY glad with the reception of Dark Reflection so far, but there seems to be an issue about Yuuto's gender. Now, rest assured, Yuuto is very much a GUY. I don't know how you guys got them mixed up, but I apologize if I did something I didn't mean to.**

**That said, don't torch me because this might seem sexist. It is _not, _I assure you faithful readers.**

**...So yeah, we have a lengthy and traumatic flashback to Yuuto's past, which involves him becoming much more Accelerator than Yuuto. The flashbacks themselves will be anachronistic, out of sequence. This is because I will put flashbacks where they are relevant and how they fit in with the 'situation'.**

**An in-universe example is because people with PTSD have triggers, and when they come across one, they either experience a traumatic flashback or freeze up completely. Yuuto's so unlucky, he gets both. Damn.**

**So I hope you guys love this chapter, and please review with your thoughts and how the dynamics between characters go. And if you would like to know, Yuuto himself is slightly based on Kaworu Nagisa, with the whole 'air-walking' thing and grey hair. Hope you guys noticed that and another Shout-Out. **

**Enjoy! **


	3. Conflicts and Revelations

_**A Certain Dark Reflection**_

_**Arc I: Remnant **_

_**Chapter 2: Conflicts and Revelations**_

* * *

I shot down like a bullet, down towards those suits who had what myself and Awaki were after. Remnant.

It was to be re-obtained at any cost, according to the instructions on the data-pad I had received. That even meant I could kill them if I wanted or needed to.

_Yeah, tear those bitches apart! Make them squeal for life, but take it away! Make them scream!_

I furrowed my eyebrows as I continued my downward course; lately, The Voice had been very much proactive, talking even more than usual. I never replied to it; I didn't want to acknowledge that part of me more than I already had.

_Oh I am deeply hurt, Yuuto! I gave you that power of yours, didn't I? At least be grateful..._

I would never be grateful towards The Voice for taking normalcy away from me. Never. But I suppose it wasn't The Voice's fault after all. Gensei had put it there.

Before The Voice could speak up again, I crashed into the small alley that those suits had went into. The crash resulted in the ground being upturned, and some was even blasted towards the cars, and the people inside.

It took me a moment to right myself, and when I did I whistled. I was in the middle of a crater, and from the looks of it the walls on either side had been fractured by the amount of force I had put into my landing. Quite impressive.

I heard a gunshot and almost without thinking I 'held' the annoying metal projectile in my shield, slowly turning my gaze onto the suits I had been pursuing.

Most of them were covered in dust, from the crash, but they had gotten organized in a remarkable amount of time. There were five of them, with two guarding the suitcase containing the Remnant while the other three had their guns out. The man in the middle...his gun was smoking, so he must have shot the bullet at me.

"You know, it's rude to shoot at someone when you meet them," I said, disapprovingly, and they seemed scared. They should be. "Gives all the _wrong impressions."_

Having not learnt from his stupidity earlier, more bullets assaulted my shield, and I found my eyebrow twitching; a disadvantage to my air shield was that I had to focus on what I was blocking, not to mention reflecting it. More things to block means less focus to other things assaulting my shield and thus I either get shredded or I get knocked out by the pressure.

Luckily, bullets were easily blocked, even in this small alleyway, and when the magazines on the guns clicked empty, I raised an eyebrow as the men seemed to piss themselves scared. Going by the smell, one of them did.

"Ugh, seriously?" I asked the offending suit, who was muttering nonsense. "Pissing yourself? I thought you guys had graduated kindergarten."

With a small gesture of my hand, I sent some bullets at the person, and the bullets drilled right through him. My version of reflection worked like the hammer of a revolver; once I had a projectile turned around, I put enough 'pressure' on the back of the projectile to send it back.

I was rewards with a cry from the person before he collapsed in a bloody heap, blood already pooling. I coughed and the men dropped their guns. In response, I dropped the bullets on the ground, one by one. Just so that their fate would sink it.

"That's better; now, I have a few questions for you people." I held up one finger. "Who hired you? It's definitely not someone in Academy City, so who was it? Germany, Italy...Spain?"

"America," One of them answered, and I blinked. America, they say? And their Japanese was practically flawless. Good for them! And I mean it.

_Gah, just leave the pleasantries and slay them out! No-one's going to miss them! _

"And your Japanese is very flawless; have to admit, you guys are pretty good at this sort of thing. However..." A creepy smile came upon my face, influenced by The Voice. "I won't let you live."

"That case is property of Academy City, and the higher-ups wouldn't be pleased with me if I let you get away with it. Could cause a lot of problems." I told them straight; I wasn't the kind of guy to lie to people I was going to kill or otherwise inconvience.

"We were told to get Remnant even if our lives were forfeit!" One of them declared, and going by the looks the others in the alley gave him, they didn't share the pride he showed.

I laughed a little actually. How could people be so _stupid _that they would pretty much give up their only chance of living? I mean granted, I wasn't going to let them live anyway-I couldn't-but couldn't they have at least begged for their lives?

"One thing I don't get though; how the hell did you guys get such a moron?" I asked them. "I mean, I wasn't going to let you live anyway, but would you guys die for your job?"

"We're fucked," One of them was muttering on the ground, cradling himself. "We're fucked...we're fucked...we're fucked!"

My eyes softened as I looked at him; so pitiful. If I had any different orders, I would have let him live another day. But Remnant was too important to lose, and I knew what Gensei could do to Saiai and Umidori if I failed.

"If it's any consolation, I'm sorry for what I'm about to do," I meant every word I now spoke. "I really, really am."

_ALRIGHT! TIME TO SLAUGHTER SOME BITCHES! _

I breezed forward, and touched one of the men on the arm; he was blown against the wall with an audible crack, and as he slid down the wall, blood trails followed him.

Not even stopping, I grabbed a small bullet from the ground and held it up, before flicking it with my middle finger at one of the men, killing him immediately. This little trick was inspired by The Railgun's signature technique, and it followed the basic rules my version of Reflection did.

Guts were splattered, and to spare the crying man on the floor, with my foot I curbstomped his head into the ground. Predictably, it splattered, with some blood getting onto my pants, and my shoes being more red than black. I didn't mind though; if I stopped for a second I seriously thought I'd lose my nerve.

Good thing I hadn't had any coffee, though I was doing remarkably well holding The Voice back; meaning I was being more sane than most of the time I immersed myself in the role of Accelerator.

I saw the other two that had been guarding the suitcase grab guns and fire blindly at me. I sneered; how predictable. I automatically bore the barrage of bullets, and with a maniacal smile I sent them right back to their sources. The storm of bullets destroyed the guns and tore through the bodies of the two men.

By the time the storm had passed, the alley was bathed in blood, and as I stepped forward I heard the splash noise that blood always made when you stepped into it.

Suddenly, I was overcome by a flashback, and I grunted as I remembered the first time I had waded through blood...

* * *

_All the corpses around me...Missing body parts, even _heads. _I walked through the crimson rivers, my eyes shocked as I tried to stop myself from throwing up._

_Just...what had I done?_

_Umidori had been taken to the infirmary, and the experiment had been discarded since I had slaughtered all of the Electromasters. The blood-lust had desisted, and now I was just unmoving in the metal room. No-one had retrieved me from the bloodbath yet. _

_I wondered if they would._

_I heard a curious squelch, and I looked down. My small feet had stepped on a piece of brain, with an eyeball looking at me, as if the dead person was staring at me from beyond the grave. _

_That was the final straw. _

_I wretched as I threw up all my breakfast and lunch, the green combining with the sickly red as I stumbled towards where I thought the exit was. _

_I needed to get out-_

_I needed to _leave-

_Too. Much. _Blood.

_I slammed against the cool metal, and I slid down, crying as I realized I wasn't a normal kid any more. I cried for a long time, before I heard a foreign voice._

Tch, how pathetic. Will you PLEASE get up, you pussy?

_I whipped my head around; where was the voice coming from?_

I'm in your head, dumbass. And before you ask, I'm _not _a telepath. I'm your Voice.

_Voice...? The image of the red eyed devil appeared in my mind again._

_That's you?_

Damn right. Though, I'm just an extension of your conscious. I guess I'm meant to be 'Accelerator'.

_The most powerful Esper...I gritted my teeth and slammed a fist against the metal wall. Why...what do you want?_

The same thing I will always want..._ The Voice smirked wildly. _I want to kill everything. I want to kill EVERYONE that opposes us. I want to make sure we bathe in blood for all eternity!

_The depravity of The Voice shocked me, and I grabbed my head as The Voice slammed into my mental walls repeatedly, and as it did so I became aware that if he breached them, I would become Accelerator._

_I didn't want to become that...bastard._

Oh, wonderful use of swearing. Try to keep that up!

_I fell unconscious, as I was aware of someone lifting me up in their arms. _

_The Voice continued to laugh maniacally in my head, even in my dreams. _

* * *

I breathed out as the world came back in a flurry of afternoon color. I could almost forget the conflict I had experienced that day.

Almost.

I grabbed the case, and engaged my communicator on my ear. I heard it dial before Awaki picked up.

"_So, Reflector Boy, are you going to apologize for hanging up on me? Seriously, you are such a jerk."_

I smiled; after that hell of a flashback, I found that Awaki raised my spirits just a little bit more than her antics usually did.

"Sorry, Awaki. But I've got the case; fall to my position. Once you're hear, we can deliver the case."

I heard Awaki give a very sarcastic sigh, and I tried not to groan in return. _"Look_, just hurry up Awaki. I don't feel right in a dark alley where anything can happen..."

All of a sudden, I heard a girl's voice call out to me.

"I'm with Judgment! Stand down and put your hands behind your head!" I turned around, and saw a middle-school aged girl with red curly pigtails. She wore the Tokiwadai uniform, and she was grasping her Judgment armband.

Shit.

God fucking damn it, why couldn't this go off without a hitch? I swore underneath my breath as I realized she had most likely watched all of the slaughter and had been analyzing my ability.

I did the best thing I could've done.

I _ignored _her.

"Oi, Awaki, just hurry up and get here. Some middle-schooler's trying to bring me in for justice." The girl seemed very affronted that I was ignoring her, and I saw her hands inch for her thighs. I caught the sight of bands going around each thigh; needles perhaps?

"_Oh, really? Well, just hold her off long enough and I'll be there to see the spectacular events. Good day, Yuuto~" _

I sighed as I ended the call, and turned back to the girl, with boredom on my face.

"You really don't want to do this, girl." I warned her, and with good reason. If she continued to pursue this, I'd have to either kill her or seriously injure her. "Trust me, the people I work with...they're very anxious for this."

I touched the back of my foot against the case, before I felt it disappear. At the same time, the girl disappeared and reappeared, the case laid against the wall. My eyes opened in shock; shit, a Teleporter!

"As I said, I'm with Judgment." The girl said to me again. "Since you murdered those men, I've also called Anti-Skill. You most likely know I was watching the barbaric activity."

This girl...her posture was relaxed, but I could see the tension in her bones, and her fingers inched towards those needle-holders from before. So, she must be able to teleport objects either linear or point-to-point. That gave me a few seconds to plan an attack.

"May I ask your name, brute, before I arrest you?" She asked with arrogance colouring her voice; typical, these types were always like this. But I recognized her from the video Gensei had shown me.

"Kuroko." I said, catching her by surprise. "You are Kuroko Shirai, Level 4 Teleporter of Judgment's 177th Branch, and the room-mate of Tokiwadai's Ace Mikoto Misaka, the 3rd Strongest Level 5."

The influx of information I had spouted at her clearly surprised her, and I smirked as I leaned against a brick wall, ready to create a shockwave or a shield.

"What? Academy City keeps a close eye on the Level 5's, especially one that's as unfocused as the Railgun."

She seemed confused, and in a moment had aired her concerns. I didn't care; I was just stalling for Awaki-she would _love _to talk to this Teleporter. To Kuroko Shirai.

"You're remarkably well-informed for a thug, but what do you mean about Onee-sama being unfocused?"

I knew she was fishing for information, and was hoping I was so confident that I would divulge information to her. Normally, I wouldn't, but clearly Mikoto had kept her in the dark.

"Level 5s are meant to follow the leaders of Academy City, to obey the rules that were set to them the moment they became Level 5s, the strongest superhumans in the scientific world. Mikoto Misaka has been a disappoint for several years; unlike Accelerator, she never dove into the darkness."

I saw her face once again confused, before I continued. I enjoyed ripping her opinion of her Onee-sama to shreds; if it meant she knew her 'Onee-sama' better, than that was good too; conflict would be bred between them.

"Aren't you aware of the Sisters Project? Or the Level 6 Shift?" I laughed as I saw just how _lost _she looked. "Oh come on! Did Mikoto not tell you? Was she just that selfish?"

I felt something pierce my sleeve, and I looked down; a needle had lodged my sleeve into the wall; keeping it there. I gritted my teeth; I _really _shouldn't have done that.

She wheeled the case closer to me, and I felt more needles puncture my shirt, keeping me afixed to the wall. I didn't care; I would tell her what she asked for, and besides, I was already prepped for escaping.

"What is it you want with this case?" She sat on it, before giving me a good long stare in the eye. "And what are you talking about? What are these Sisters you are talking about?"

I smiled, before answering. Though I normally hated tearing into naïve people, this would be much more enjoyable than usual because this was my first serious attempt at breaking her.

"Well, if I told you what my superiors wanted with the case, they'd kill me," As well as Saiai and Umidori, which I couldn't let happen. "And the Sisters...were clones created by Academy City for Accelerator to reach Level 6."

I saw her eyes widen, and continued to enlighten her to the matters that were connected to her Onee-sama. "It was theorized by the Diagram that if Accelerator killed twenty-thousand clones, he would ascend."

"And how were these clones created? Surely DNA material would be needed?" Kuroko interrogated me, and I just continued to oblidge. With a smirk worthy of Accelerator present on my face.

_Atta boy! You make me so proud! _

"Of course, and the DNA was taken from none other than Mikoto Misaka!" The silence after that declaration was astounding, and Kuroko was even breathing fast. How perfect.

"What...what did you say...?"

I continued on my lecture; sometimes, the truth hurt a lot more than the lies some told. "You heard me; clones of Mikoto Misaka were created from a DNA sample, for participation in the experiment. Or should I say lined up for slaughter?" I gave it a thought before I shrugged and continued on.

"Anyway, they weren't as strong as the original Railgun-only Level 3-, so the Tree Diagram was used for the calculations. The Sisters have been mass-produced since a few months ago, and on average at least a good number of them were killed everyday. Their memories were sent through the MISAKA Network for the next clone to use, so they remembered the pain as well as gaining experience in fighting."

I gave a creepy smile as Kuroko recoiled, her hand holding her mouth in disgust.

"Honestly, such a naive little girl. She wanted to help people with muscle dystrophy, but she was used for the unethical experiments of this City. Just like every damn person here." I looked at Kuroko again, and it seemed she was putting pieces together. "Did you never notice something wrong with Mikoto a while ago? Did she go out late at night, sometimes for hours? That was her trying to end the experiments on her own. How pathetic."

"Onee-sama..." Kuroko struggled to believe what I told her, and I pitied her; I honestly did. To learn something so earth-shattering was quite an ordeal. She turned a critical eye on me, and I could see she was rejecting my answers. "You ape! You're lying, you have to be! Onee-sama would never-"

"Leave you in the dark?" I interrupted, before sighing and blinking my eyes repeatedly. "Come on, Kuroko, be rational. I know you're intelligent; to get into Tokiwadai is proof-but did you really ignore all the facts that were present? Mikoto possibly having nightmares at times, and crying in bed?"

"You...you're lying...you have to be..." She continued trying to deny it, but I could see she was replaying all of the recent memories of Mikoto in her head.

"If it helps, the experiment stopped August 21st; the day Misaka 10032 was supposed to die. Mikoto was even going to sacrifice herself to stop the experiments, to stop her own suffering; the higher-ups always keep an eye on her from a distance. Does that help put things into perspective?"

It seemed to, as Kuroko began to shake, and her eyes welled up in tears as she realized just what Mikoto had gone through. I will give Kuroko this-she seemed like a true friend, even despite the antics she got up to with her 'Onee-sama'. That just made me feel more ire for Mikoto.

She had never trusted her friends with the truth; she had burdened herself unnecessarily when her friends could've helped her. How stupid, and how utterly ignorant of the feelings of others. That might be hypocritical, I don't know, but it's how I feel, and I hoped Awaki would get here soon.

But...why was I doing this to Kuroko? Why was I breaking apart her whole perception of her beloved Onee-sama? Why was I being so...cruel? Was it because I was jaded by the Dark Side, had I been so corrupted I wanted her to feel pain? Or was it because I wanted her horizons to be opened?

Did I want...did I just want her to _understand? _To know what her friend had been going through? I think that must be it. I think I wanted Mikoto to know she had friends that she could confind in, so that she didn't have to lie or hide secrets from them.

I will freely admit, sometimes my actions don't make sense, not even to me. Maybe it was just my own damned idealism that had been ripped apart. But I guess in the end Mikoto deserved someone else other than that Imagine Breaker to confide in.

After that night...the slaughter of those Electromasters, I was _afraid. _I was afraid that Saiai and Umidori would call me a monster and stop being my friends. Maybe that was the dilemma Mikoto was facing. That she was afraid as well.

But there was also a side to me that enjoyed tearing Kuroko's world apart, showing her just how dark the other side was. How _evil _and immoral the Dark Side of this City was. The Voice was doing this, making me take enjoyment in this breaking of a girl's spirit. In that moment of realization, I knew that I had to keep The Voice in check, to make sure it never influenced me like that night ever again.

My life was full of conflict, huh?

Suddenly, Kuroko fell back down off of the case, and at the same time I felt the needles that had been holding me to the wall disappear. Look who decided to show up. I pushed my previous thoughts to the back of my mind; I would need my wit right now.

"Well, this is something." I heard Awaki before I saw her. She was sitting on the case, with a sly look on her face. "I never would have expected you to inform her of the Railgun's nightmare, Yuuto-kun."

Awaki had her long blood-red hair in two ponytails, and wore her Kirigaoka Girls' uniform coat over her shoulders, like a cape. She also wore a pleated shirt. Perhaps the most disturbing thing about her ensemble were the bandages wrapped around her breasts, like some lady I had seen in a manga once. On her belt was her traditional military flashlight, which her powers required.

Even from a single glance, Awaki was meant to seduce and kill, and her personality and actions compliments the flirtiness she tended to display towards a lot of people she argued with. Unfortunately, I was included in that category.

"Yeah, well, since the case is involved with the experiment, I think she deserves to know what her 'Onee-sama was hiding from her," I told Awaki flat out. Kuroko tried to get up, but Awaki teleported a corkscrew into Kuroko's arm, making the latter hiss.

I sympathized; usually, when someone faced Awaki in combat they either suffered intense injuries or were poked full of bleeding holes from the corkscrews.

"A Teleporter?" Kuroko asked, as she got up, holding her bad arm. I merely stood behind Awaki now, leaning against the wall. I wondered how this was going to turn out...

_WHOO! Bitch fight! Where's the goddamn popcorn?!_

"Oh, you've noticed?" Awaki said mockingly, and this was Awaki's stage now; I'd best not interfere. "I guess someone with the same power would."

"My power is Move Point," Awaki explained, though I questioned the wisdom of divulging capital information to an enemy. Though, given I had done the same thing a few moments ago with the Level 6 Shift and the Sisters, I couldn't complain. "Unlike you, I don't have to touch an object to teleport it. Pretty cool huh?"

I could tell, the fun was about to begin, and it would be very worth it if I stayed back while it played out.

_Seriously though...where's the damn popcorn in this brain of yours?! _

* * *

**...So, a big bombshell. Yuuto decides to inform Kuroko of the Sisters and by extension the Level 6 Shift experiment, probably breaking her in the first place. The reason I did this was because I was annoyed in canon how Mikoto never really confided in her friends despite them being concerned about her. **

**And given that Mikoto was broken _a lot _during that arc, I thought it reasonable she would have nightmares and would have restless nights at the least. Make it seem realistic, given just _what _her DNA had been used for. **

**And to comment, due to The Voice's presence and Yuuto's own morality, he has a hard time knowing why he does things. For example, what he told Kuroko. It was logical to a point he would tell her, since no-one would believe her anyway, but he didn't _have _to tell her. He could've left it alone.**

**In his heart, he is very much aware of Mikoto's situation with her friends, and as I've displayed when The Voice started to talk to him, and I've also described just how conflicted he was that Saiai and Umidori would reject him, I think he would want nothing like that between Mikoto and her friends.**

**Guess it's just proof that Yuuto is very much an idealist underneath the mask he wears, huh? And I have to say, I really like Awaki's character and just how fun and _bitchy _she can be sometimes. I hope I've done her character justice and if there are any complaints about this chapter, I will gladly address them next chapter.**

**Also, I've put up a poll for which girl Yuuto should be paired with, so if you guys could take the time to vote that'd be great, and I'll leave the poll up for the next few chapters. **

**This 'fic will also go onto the SCHOOL incident and even into New Testament, hopefully. Trust me, if Yuuto seems a bit OP, remember, Espers can't do _shit _against magicians, and if Yuuto faced a Level 5 and the Level 5 was fighting seriously, he'd get owned. **

**I'm also still finding my chops regarding the story, so please, be lenient with me as I get much better. **

**So, next chapter, we see the aftermath of the ending of this chapter, as well as some surprising events and expanding on canon. Yuuto might even deliver another Breaking Speech. Goddamn, he's like Hannibal Lecter! **


	4. Round of Ultimatums

_**A Certain Dark Reflection**_

_**Chapter 3: Round of Ultimatums**_

* * *

It was pretty hilarious to see Awaki just smirk at the Teleporter, Kuroko Shirai, who was still wincing on the ground in pain, after Awaki's trademark corkscrew had found itself in her shoulder.

Per our 'business agreement', I didn't interfere with Awaki whenever she was toying with someone, nor would she interrupt me in the reverse situation. It was part of our special relationship.

I just leaned against the brick wall, waiting for something to happen. It had been a few moments since Kuroko had talked, and even less since Awaki had told Kuroko of her power.

Outwardly, I projected an essence of nonchalance, as even my gaze was giving the proceeding matter little thought. But inside my head, The Voice was going berserk.

_Jesus Christ, get to the action already! I wanna see wet tops and other such activities! _

Honestly, the bastard never quite gave up during my time awake. He never gave me a single break. I either had to tolerate his annoying commentary or else I had to reply, which would never be fun.

Oh, it looks like Kuroko was beginning to get up and speak or something. Not that she could do much against me or Awaki without her precious Onee-sama. The only ones who could kill me or Awaki would be a Level 5.

Thank god Accelerator wasn't around or else I'd be eating those words, huh?

"I don't know what the objective is...whatever you two are after..." Kuroko was fighting through pain to deliver her piece. Admirable, but foolish. Awaki was still looking smug.

"But if you attacked me knowing that I was a member of Judgment..." In a flash she had withdrew three of her nails, ready to throw. Awaki wasn't deterred and neither was I.

Honestly, throwing things at us? Her type of Teleportation was point-to-point, not linear. Pretty much any movement was render her projectiles useless.

But I silently observed as Awaki took control, subtlely without Kuroko noticing. One of the surprisingly many admirable things about that stripper girl.

_But we both know what you _really _feel, don't we Yuuto? _

I repressed The Voice as Kuroko made to throw her pathetic projectiles, even her arm being drawn into an arc, her face utterly focused. Too bad that would fail in a few short moments.

"Then I don't need to hold back!" Kuroko shouted, but Awaki took her flashlight and pointed it at Kuroko. With a flick of her wrist, the bodies of the men I had killed were between us and her.

I could see Kuroko's mind working in circles, before I saw her nails disappear and I casually moved backwards down the other side of the alley, as Awaki followed. The nails fell uselessly on the floor. Kuroko even had the audacity to look _shocked. _

I mean, that's how many Teleporters work; if they want to teleport something, they have to do it point-to-point, as linear wouldn't work. It couldn't even be done! To my knowledge, at least. But thanks to that epic fail, I could safely determine that Kuroko was a 'common' Teleporter.

_Not even worth killing..._

I gritted my teeth. This was bad. The Voice was beginning to get a hold on my head again; we'd need to wrap this up pretty quick so I could get to my coffee in time. Which was still in my apartment. Damn it.

_Why are you afraid, Yuuto? I'm a part of you~_

I tuned it out as Awaki lazily flicked her wrist again and the nails fell into her open left hand. Kuroko, being an idiot, rushed forward, hoping to catch Awaki off guard. I sighed; how truly pathetic of this ojou-sama.

Awaki threw the nail at Kuroko's head, and though Kuroko dodged, I knew that Awaki knew she would do that. I could see it in Awaki's body language; she was having too much _fun. _

_Nothing wrong with massacring enemies, is there? After all... _

Flashes of the night The Voice had first spoken to me flashed through my mind, and the ensuing carnage as well. Even how I had emptied my stomach through vomiting.

_You did it _just _fine..._

I growled, and focused again on the 'fight' between the two Teleporters.

Kuroko had dodged, as I previously saw, and in a moment she had teleported close to Awaki, who was as nonchalant as I was. Which was justified, concerning the current conflict.

"Too naive!" Kuroko shouted, and made to punch Awaki across the face with her right fist drawn back. Awaki didn't even spare her a glance as she gave a subtle flick and then Kuroko's eyes widened as the nail from before had pierced her left side, paralyzing her in shock, and she fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

Ooh. Going by how she was trembling, her nails were much sharper than I had originally anticipated. Looks like she had sharpened them to a point so that they had good piercing power, but that had worked against her this time.

I knew she'd learn from this error, if she ever fought Awaki again.

"I said it already, didn't I?" Awaki gloated as she spun her flashlight around those delicate fingers of hers, smirking uncontrollably. "My Move Point isn't like your ability where you need to touch something to teleport it. Kind of stupid of you to forget that important piece of information I practically fed you."

So, Awaki had reached the same conclusion as me. To be expected, giving that we were similar in more than just personality or ruthlessness.

"What a shame," Awaki mocked, as she teleported Kuroko's remaining nails into her hand, and jostled them. "Even though she's so desperate, I didn't think she was the type of person to involve her junior. At least, not until she had hit total despair like before..."

"Save it Awaki, I already gave her the run down." I unfortunately interrupted Awaki's rant, and she pursed her lips and raised her eyebrow at me in questioning.

"I know, but I wanted to play a little more before we left," Awaki bent down to Kuroko's eye level. "After all, it's been a while since I've seen another Teleporter. Pretty rare these days."

Yeah, I'd say that. I neglected to mention that Gensei had had me retrieving Teleporters from the Reformatory for some reason, but it was left in no doubt to me that the Exterior facility was involved. Gensei had told me that much.

Exterior...the giant brain that gave _me _and The Voice creeps because Exterior had actually been created from Misaki Shokuhou's own brain. Not harvested, just a bit of brain tissue enhanced by Hulk steroids. Theoretically, it could be used by anyone to mind-hack anyone they wanted.

I had an inkling of what Gensei needed it for, but it was best left alone. If I investigated matters on my own, he'd no doubt pull some strings on my adopted little sisters...

I reminded myself that when I had the chance, I was going to kill that bastard. I was going to curbstomp his fucking head into the fucking ground, and have solace in the blood and brain matter that would splatter.

_Ha! At least we both agree on something this time, eh Yuuto? _

"That electricity shortage; don't you think it was convenient that those guys Yuuto-kun butchered got caught in traffic right when it happened?"

Kuroko seemed like she would faint at any moment, and given that she had a nail imbedded in the left side of her body, I think I'd feel the same. Using my powers to dislodge the nail if it had been in my body would've caused a burst of blood to exit the wound. I didn't want to become a shrivelled up prune until I was at least seventy.

If I lived that long, that is.

"That's something that the Railgun could cause with her powers, right?" Awaki spelled it out for Kuroko, and it seemed that it was easier for Kuroko to comprehend as I had given her the info on the Sisters before hand.

"Silicorundum. That's a confusing term, huh?" Uh oh, I didn't like where Awaki was bringing this. Not one bit. "I wonder if you'd understand if I said this was the remnant of the Tree Diagram."

Oh shit! Goddamn it Awaki! The _one thing _no one was supposed to know and she blathered about it! God damn it! I mean, since I had told Kuroko of the experiment, that was hypocritical on some level, but still!

"Awaki!" I barked, and Awaki seemed to come to focus again. "That's confidential, remember! One thing we're not supposed to inform anyone of!"

"But you told her of the Sisters, didn't you, Yuuto-kun?" She asked me with a cute yet annoying cat smile on her face. "So how is this any different?"

I struggled to find a reason, but I groaned and grabbed my hair, rubbing it in frustration. If Awaki got us killed for this-!

I heard a ringing, and we all froze. Literally, we dared not to move. I saw something flash bright in Kuroko's pocket. A phone! Damn! Look's like I'd have to get involved.

"Let me take this," I reached into Kuroko's pocket and pulled out a sort of long rod thing. I blinked; the only thing that betrayed it as a phone was the speaker on the bottom of the rod as well as a holographic generator.

If only I could answer it-! Until Awaki swiped it out of my hands and opened it, getting the call patched through. She held it out to me, and I took it gingerly, giving her a look.

She mouthed; _you owe me for this one. _

God damn. Well, time to get into my business mindset. I let some of The Voice's more 'passive-aggressive' than outright psychopathic tendencies affect me, and a smirk graced my face as the integration was successful.

Time to tear into this bitch!

"_Oh, Kuroko?" _I heard the voice of the Railgun, and for a moment I was apprehensive; if I incurred her wrath, it was most likely I would not survive the next encounter. I would die.

Fuck it.

"Sorry, the number you called cannot be reached. Please leave a message after the beep," I said into the strange phone, before I decided to troll her some more. "BEEP!"

"_...Who are you?" _She asked, and I could hear a dangerous tone beginning to seep into her voice. _"What have you done with Kuroko?!" _

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko croaked out, before Awaki dug the nail in her side into her a little more, causing her to scream in the sheer pain. "Gaahh!"

"_KUROKO!" _I was conflicted again; it was obvious she cared for Kuroko, yet I needed to ensure that she wouldn't get involved in Remnant. _"Leave Kuroko alone, now!" _

"Sorry Railgun, we don't obey your commands." I replied, immersing myself more into The Voice in order to repress the guilt. I could feel myself becoming...

Accelerator. The monster; the greatest one ever to grace Academy City.

"But, there is something you can do in order to ease her suffering..."

For a moment, I could see her in my mind's eye. Eyes terrified for her friend, thoughts full of the horrible implications of what I could ask her to do.

How disgusting. I almost destroyed the phone then and there; to commit _that _would be the worst sin one could commit, and whoever did so was a depraved monster.

Luckily how I'm not a monster of the depraved kind.

"_W...what?" _She asked, and I felt a demonic smile, serene compared to the chaos of the current situation, before I explained to her. _"What do you want?" _

"Just one thing actually, Mikoto Misaka." If she was surprised I knew her name, then she didn't show it. I grimaced; ah phooey, what a waste of time! "Leave us and the Remnant alone, and your friend gets to live; not exactly sparkling new, but more like _dented metal._"

I gave a nod to Awaki, who seemed confused at my new demeanor before complying, twisting the nail further into Kuroko's soft flesh. God, how I loved the screams of pain in the afternoon!

"Get it? She'll live, but if you don't let us take the Remnant and set up Sisters for the chop block, _we will kill her_." I punctuated. I wanted to let Mikoto know I meant what I said. If it came to the point I would need to kill Kuroko...

_MORE FUN FOR ME, RIGHT?! _

Right!

"This is not a negotiation. We. Will. Kill. Her. If you continue to interfere, we will dispose of her in the most gruesome manner created, while she is _completely conscious. _Understand? Stay silent if you say yes."

"_..." _

Yep. There it was; proof Mikoto, the famed Shock Bauer-the nickname had been derived from how she constantly tried to fight Touma, in public even!-had a heart. Too bad for me, and inwardly I groaned. No bloodbath for me tonight.

"You know, I don't get it." I continued the conversation, and Awaki gave me a weird look; I'll have to take care of that later, preferably with some knuckles. "Why would you save the test-tube babies that were perfectly content with being slaughtered, dismembered, by a PSYCHOTIC piece of shit?! You were happier off not knowing, and they were content too. How did you manage to screw up the whole goddamn system?!"

Before she could answer, I hung up, and I shouted to the heavens.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD SHE SAVE THOSE STUPID CLONES?!"

I felt a pinch on my shoulder, before I turned. Right into a punch from Awaki. I glared at the bitch while I rubbed my face; mainly superficial damage, but this bitch would pay for it.

"You didn't bring your pills, did you, Yuuto?" Odd, there was the lack of a honorific; strange for her, and she was _staring _at me. Stop that! "Luckily, I came prepared in case of emergencies."

Too suddenly, I felt an injection pierce my left arm, and as I looked at the syringe as the concentrated calming drugs were put into my body, a red fog I was not aware of cleared up, and I took in the scene again. Before I realized what I had done, what I had thought and what I could have done.

If I had remained a monster.

"Time to leave, Yuuto-kun." Awaki's tone was now kind, and to me it seemed far away. "I'll leave the Teleporter for Anti-Skill to retrieve."

With the dampened sound of a flicked wrist, Awaki put an odd brick that had fallen from the wall right onto Kuroko's head, sending the fallen and injured Teleporter into unconsciousness.

As I walked lamely beside her, Awaki's hand snaked around mine, and I became vaguely aware I wasn't alone.

It was a good feeling.

It reminded me, of back then.

Everything else faded into black as _something _happened to me.

* * *

_It had been several days after I had come to the Facility after the kind old man had brought me here, but I didn't know what to do. If there was anything I could do. _

_Mostly, I was put in a bedroom of some kind, with nice fluffy pillows which made me feel very good inside. I ate breakfast in the canteen every day as well as lunch and dinner, plus I was studying some books Gensei had given me. _

_He had said it was 'required reading for the future'. I had no idea what that meant._

_I was eating an ice cream that was a special treat for the tests I had been doing good in, and I smiled as I ate it. I hadn't had ice-cream before, and I liked it very much._

_All of a sudden, I heard the sound of crying in a side corridor, and I was curious. I peeked down the corridor, and proceeded down, wondering what the source of the noise was._

_It was my duty to help people in need, wasn't it? _

_I came to a room with a door ajar, and I heard the voices of two little girls talking to each other. One was crying; that was what I was looking for._

"_Shh, Sa-chan! You know what'll happen if _they _hear the noise! Remember?" This girl's voice was harsh, but it seemed to have a caring edge. _

_Even back at the orphanage, I'd been good at reading people. Or at least, I hoped I did. That's why I let the bullies take my lunches; they'd never try anything if I gave them what they wanted. _

_I looked through the crack in the door, and I saw two girls about three or so years younger than me sitting together on one bed. The scolding one had been wearing a hat that seemed to be modelled after a raincoat's hood, and was wearing a dark top and shorts to compliment the outfit. She even had black hair and eyes to compliment the goth look. _

_What? I heard the term when the teacher's talked about internet phenomenon._

_The one that was crying, was different in pretty much every sense. She wore a blazing red cardigan over a yellow shirt, and with shorts the same make as her friend's. Her red hair was short, but it looked jagged, as if someone had forcibly cut it. Her eyes were closed in crying._

_I decided enough was enough; I was gonna cheer up these girls no matter what! That's what I wanna do when I grow up. I wanna help people!_

_I pushed open the door, and like rabbits they looked at me as I stepped in timidly. I looked awkward, with an ice cream in my hand, and curiosity._

"_Hello. Who are you?" I asked politely, before the rain-hood girl bounced up and closed the door behind me. Despite being younger-and smaller-than me, she gave me a _look_, and I recoiled back slightly._

"_Who the heck are _you_?" She asked me, and I was mildly irritated about this; but I decided I wouldn't get anywhere if I didn't follow the courtesy. _

"_I'm Yuuto Amagi. Who are you guys, if you don't mind me asking?" Due to answering my question, the dark-haired girl huffed and crossed her arms. _

"_I'm Umidori Kuroyoru. That's Saiai Kinuhata." She said, and I with a smile I walked over the Saiai. She recoiled, before I smiled and held out my hand. _

_After a moment of hesitation, she grabbed it, and I smiled._

"_Hello Saiai. Are you hungry? Ice-cream makes me feel better." _

_Despite her sadness, Saiai was able to smile at me, and my extended offering. _

* * *

I woke up with a scream.

I screamed for several seconds before my adrenaline source stopped and the rush faded from my vision. I breathed in and out, before seeing my surroundings.

I was in my room, lying on my bed. I felt uncomfortable; I got up and saw that the bed sheets were soaked through and through. I sighed, despite my fear. My facade didn't fail me.

Great, now I'd have to wash the damn things.

_Took you long enough to wake up, bastard! _

And there he was. The Voice greeted me again, but I ignored him. Wait, when did I start treating it as a normal person? Goddamn it, why was my mind so screwed up?

_Giggity!_

I became aware of something I had forgotten, something missing...

The events of earlier played through my mind; the slaughter, the madness that seeped through my mental armor, and Awaki consoling me.

She'll never let me hear the end of it.

_Damn right! _

Wait. I took into consideration how it seemed to be night outside, but it was clearly afternoon when I had had one of the incidents a few hours ago.

"What's going on...Where's Awaki?" As if on cue, my attention was drawn to a note stuck to the wall, and I peeled it off, and caught the whiff of my own stench and Awaki's particular perfume.

_Gah! Get that thing away from our nose! Hurry up! _

I read the note, slowly as my eyes were still calming down, and it read as so:

_If you're reading this, Yuuto, you've woken up from your rampage earlier. As you were...exhausted, so to speak, I'm escorting Remnant on my own to our benefactors. Dial my number if you need to contact me. Your Awaki-chan~_

I groaned as I realized this played into her hands, and that she had _forced this. _Awaki was likable, sure; but she tended to tease me a little more than necessary.

I picked up my phone, and dialed the number, waiting in anticipation as I heard the phone dial. I tapped my fingers against the wall, waiting for Awaki to pick up.

"Come on Awaki! Pick up the one time I actually need you!" That wasn't strictly true, but if I wanted to protect her-no, protect the _case_, I'd need to know where she was.

"_Sorry, Yuuto, this is a bad time at the moment." _Awaki told me as I heard explosions in the background, and my stomach fell. What was going on?

"Listen, Awaki! Where are you?" I demanded, as hysteria spread into my mind's better parts. If Awaki got hurt or killed because of me, then...

"_I'm in the construction site, near the Judgment branch that Kuroko works. I met up with some of my cronies and we're keeping the Railgun at bay." _

My eyes widened; the Railgun had intervened? Even after we had threatened her friend? Goddamn it Mikoto! Don't keep me to the threat!

Well, I rationalized, she most likely stationed someone guarding her, or Anti-Skill members. At the very least, about three if necessary. That could mean problems, especially if they were armed with automatic rifles.

I couldn't take the chance though. Not when Awaki's life was in the middle.

My mind worked in overdrive before I came to a solution. One that disgusted me more, and the amount of self-hate I had grew by quite an amount.

"Awaki, that Uiharu girl that we both know Railgun is friends with; does she work at that Judgment Branch you mentioned?" I asked with urgency, because it would decide my current course of action.

"_Yep, from what I recall. Why, what plan have you got going 'round in that special head of yours?" _A customary tease, but it calmed me down; it made me feel that this was routine.

Scarily, this process actually _was routine. _

"Let's just say I've got an ultimatum for Mikoto Misaka, and I'll be bringing it to her. Just keep her occupied for the next few minutes, okay?"

She must of heard the worry, the uneven tone of my voice, because I heard her be reassuring for a moment. Trying to be the friend I really needed.

"_Don't worry, Yuuto. Just do what you gotta do; we'll stall. That's what we're best at." _

The phone clicked off, and I was left in silence for a few moments, before getting my act together and steeling my resolve. I took just enough pills that I could _seem _psychotic but I didn't actually become the word.

Once I locked the door, I jumped off into the sky, heading for my destination.

_...This is gonna get _fun_, isn't it Yuuto?_

* * *

**So, this is the first fourth chapter of a fanfic I've written in a long time; hooray! Hopefully, this means that I'll get my writing back on track. **

**A few whammies in this chapter, most particular being I show you guys what happens _when The Voice gets into Yuuto's mind. _It's already there, but he becomes even more psychotic as well as repressing any morality he had.**

**This is the danger of him using The Voice's presence to 'mask' over his own personality, like what Umidori does. There is a very large chance that the longer and deeper he makes it go, the more chance there is he will cross the Moral Event Horizon in a fit of anger, and become Accelerator.**

**Scratch that. He'd become Accelerator _plus _huge amounts of caffeine. **

**That's how screwed people would be.**

**So if you guys can guess, yes, there will be a hostage situation next chapter, and I really hate doing this but I want to put Yuuto through so much agony as well as self-hatred and questioning himself that he becomes more human. I also appreciate the great positive feedback you guys are giving me, and I really hope you keep doing that.**

**Awaki is winning by a landslide on the vote, and if you guys can continue voting for the next three chapters-at the least-, I'd appreciate it. **

**Also, if someone wants to make a TVTropes page for this once he/she thinks the story is far enough for it, I'd say go for it. I know that most likely A Certain Dark Reflector won't reach such heights, but a guy can dream, right?**

**Anyway, see you guys next chapter!**


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